“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” [1 John 5: 14-15, ESV]
1 John is a very powerful and practical book. This time we are considering what ‘confidence’ means and is based in. Without confidence we are severely hampered because we aren’t sure of the step we have just taken nor exactly where we are to take the next step. Our foundation is in question. However, when we act IN/ON confidence we project a completely different person. The confidence John is telling us we need is based in ‘Ask’, ‘Know’, and ‘Have’. So how do we define these words and how do they influence our confidence.
In this study, don’t forget Hebrews, which also affects our ask and have, Without this verse in Hebrews, just how confident would our confidence be?
“Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].” [Hebrews 4:16, AMP]
(Note: the ‘Therefore’ in verse 16 refers to the previous 2 verses: 14-15. ‘Therefore’ is always in context.) One definite piece in our defining and describing is that confidence is without fear. If we are responding in fear then we aren’t responding with confidence.
However, the caveat is what our confidence rests upon. Webster tends to define confidence in terms of ‘self’. I can accept this as long as the definition of confidence in oneself rests in my confidence in the Lord. If He isn’t the foundation for my words and acts of confidence… then I’m on a slippery slope or on sinking sand. It’s interesting that Webster primarily defines confidence in terms of self. Wrong way round – our confidence has to rest on something, someone. Our only foundation of assurance is Jesus.
Since Webster seems to also define confidence in terms of assurance (and vice versa) then we have to have something ‘solid’ to stand on. Webster’s synonym for assurance is: “a state of mind in which one is free from doubt”. Now that’s a foundation. In the fickleness of life, we do need doubt-less mindsets that direct our ways. Our confidence, assurance is/has to be based in the changelessness of God. He’s told us Who He is and What He does in His Word. We can rest in this so that when we ask… we can know… and will receive (have) when it is “according to His will” – and when when this is the foundation, based in His Word, we walk in confidence.
